THE TOURIST industry can ill afford the type of setback that the pull-out of the Princess Cruise line implies. According to the report in Monday's Gleaner the cruise line that brought some 100,000 cruise passengers to the island each year will not be returning after the next season. Instead it will add Costa Myer in Mexico as its new port of call. The loss to us of direct and indirect revenue will be substantial; one estimate is that the loss in terms of the head tax levied on cruise ship passengers will be in the region of US$400,000. As usual the pull-out of the cruise line is being attributed to the bane of the tourist industry, visitor harassment, poor infrastructure and the lack of attractions for the cruise passengers.
A letter, also in Monday's Gleaner, from a travel agent who has been visiting the island regularly for 26 years should ring alarm bells not just within the tourist industry but in the country in general.
According to the writer, Judi Eberle, Jamaica is her favourite island but after an absence of a year and a half she was unprepared for what she saw and felt on her recent trip. She says that while she has come to accept the poor condition of the roads she was embarrassed for the people of Jamaica because of the litter and trash strewn everywhere on the drive from the Montego Bay airport to Ocho Rios.
As she very vividly puts it, "I try to imagine what a first-time visitor would think, having arrived in what they were told was paradise". This travel agent, who from the tone of her letter cares about Jamaica, has other concerns. Ms Eberle recalls the days when she was able to travel all over the island without fear, but now because of the crime rate she is afraid to venture out of her hotel. She suggests that the fact that people care so little about the beauty around them reflects a lack of pride in the country and a lack of respect for themselves and others.
The travel agent also wonders if the distance that the all-inclusives impose between locals and visitors might explain the change in the attitude of Jamaicans from being friendly, loving and dignified people.
Tourism is far too important to the economy for us to ignore the warning signs whether they come from a cruise line moving to other destinations or from a travel agent that cares enough about the country to write expressing her concern.
The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner.
